Bhagalpur - tourism

Bhagalpur - General Information

Bhagalpur is famous worldwide for its silk production. The city has major road and rail connections and trades in agricultural produce and cloth. Major industries include rice and sugar milling and woolen weaving. The silk industry in this city is hundreds of years old. The language used in Bhagalpur is Angika, one the oldest languages of the World.

Bhagalpur is one of the oldest districts of Bihar located in the Southern region. It is situated in the plane of Ganga basin at height Of 141 feet above sea level.

Bhagalpur - History

References to Bhagalpur can be found in Indian epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where Bhagalpur has been described as the kingdom of Anga. Mandar Hill, situated 52 km south from Bhagalpur, is believed to have been used as Churner during Samudra-Manthan by God and Danav according to Hindu mythology. Ancient cave sculptures of Emperor Ashoka's regime are found in the neighbourhood and at Sultangunj, 20 km west of Bhagalpur, a temple of the Gupta period still exists.

The tomb of Suja, brother of Moghul emperor Aurangzeb, in the heart of the town is reminiscent of the city's association with the Mughal period. Ruins of ancient Vikramshila University are located 44 km east of Bhagalpur. It was the medieval centre to the conservation and propagation of Buddhist education, established by King Dharampal of Bengal at the end of the 8th century.

Bhagalpur is a town of historical importance situated on the southern bank of the Ganga river. Situated 220km east of state capital Patna and 410 km north west of Calcutta it is well connected by rail and road.

Bhagalpur - What to see

Mandar Hill
Mandar hill is about 50 km from Bhagalpur and every year on 14 Jan & (14 April on the ocasion of Bisua) there is a very big fair on the occasion of Makar Sankarnti. This hill is the very same hill which was used for the Sagar Manthan. You can see the marks of the snake around the hill used for mathan. Foot prints of Lord Vishnu can also be seen on this hill. The most attracting feature of the hill is the lake at its peak.

Madhusudan Temple
This is a sacred temple of Lord Vishnu situated at a small Town Bounsi (Balisa Nagar).

Shive Mandir & Masjid
It is situated at Bounsi. It is a greatexample of Hindu Muslim unity because the wall of both Shiv Mandir & Masjid is common.

Chandan Dam
The dam is is situated 30 Kms from Bounsi (Madhusudan Temple).

Vikramashila
Founded in the latter part of the eight century A.D by Dharmapala, the Buddhist University of Vikramashila is loacted at the famous Patharghat Hill on the right bank of the Ganga, about 38 kilometers to the southeast of Bhagalpur. No early account of this monastic university is however, extant, nor has it been mentioned in Pali or Sanskrit literature. All that is know about it today is that it was patronized by the Pala Kings who helped the University of Nalanda too, though not on the same scale as they did in the case of Vikramashila. For a number of years this university was a well known center of Tantricism. The university was destroyed before A.D 1206.